A Binary Choice
by DarkSpade3
Summary: It was supposed to be all over. Umbrella had been destroyed. That should have been the end. It wasn't. Now Rebecca Chambers must try to end the threat of the T-Virus once and for all.
1. History Repeating Itself

Don't own a thing etc. Enjoy!  
  
  
  
A Binary Choice  
  
by  
  
DarkSpade  
  
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Ends and beginnings - there are no such things. There are only middles.  
  
-Robert Frost  
  
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June 10th, 2005 - 7 years after mansion incident  
  
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The intercom crackled to life as the young doctor placed another slide under the microscope. The slide contained a particularly potent variant of the ebola virus which had already killed hundreds of people across several villages in central Africa.  
  
"Dr. Chambers, there's a phone call for you."  
  
"I'm kind of busy, Helen. I still have a lot of work to do on these ebola samples. Can you take a message?" she asked.  
  
"They said it was urgent and that you'd wan't to speak to them." answered Helen.  
  
After pausing for a second she decided. "Fine. I'm coming out."   
  
The door closed behind her as she entered the decontamination room. After a few seconds her biohazard suit was sprayed down with water from nozzles which lined the white room. When the process was complete the door in front of her opened and she stepped out into a locker room.  
  
Rebecca Chambers removed the hood of the suit and threw it on the bench in the middle of the room. Then she unzipped the front of it and stepped out of it. She hung the oversized biohazard suit on a hook and took her white lab coat from another.  
  
She put the lab coat on over her jeans and t-shirt, checking to see that her ID was still attached, cringing slightly as she saw the terrible picture of herself printed on it next to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) logo.  
  
She walked out of the locker room to see her assistant, Helen, standing standing outside. Helen was nineteen and had only been Rebecca's assistant for a few weeks. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Doctor, but the guy on the phone sounded serious." she explained to Rebecca.   
  
"It's okay, Helen. I'll take the call in my office. Who did you say was calling?" Rebecca replied.  
  
"I-I didn't. He-he didn't give me a name. He just said he was an old friend of yours and he needed your help with an urgent problem." Helen stuttered. "I'm sorry, I should have asked."  
  
"Don't worry about it. It's almost lunchtime. Why don't you take your break a little early today?" said Rebecca, as she turned around to walk back to her office, eager to find out who the mystery caller was.  
  
Rebecca took the stairs up two floors to her office. The office was still new to her. There were boxes waiting to be unpacked all over the room. Up until a few weeks ago she had been sharing a cramped office on the floor below with two other junior researchers. Rebecca weaved through the boxes and dropped heavily into the chair behind the cluttered desk and picked up the phone. The light next to the 'hold' button was flashing. She pressed it.  
  
"Hello." came a deep male voice.  
  
"Barry!? Is that you?" exclaimed Rebecca excitedly, instantly recognising the voice on the other end of the line.  
  
"Hey, Becca. Yeah, it's me. So how are things in Atlanta? Chris told me that you just got promoted." said Barry.  
  
"Yeah, they gave me a huge office and a raise. They even gave me an assistant. I moved into the office a few weeks ago but there are still boxes full of stuff everywhere. I don't even know what's in half of them." Rebecca told him.  
  
"Wow. What's your assistant like?" asked Barry.  
  
"Well, she's kinda new but she once she gets used to the job I think she'll do great. So, how about you _Chief_ Burton. What's it like to be running your own police department? I'll bet Denver is now one of the safest places in America now thanks to you."  
  
"That's kinda what I'm calling about. We might have a serious problem here. Last night a patrol car interrupted an assault in progress in the suburbs of the city. The two officers were able to stop the assault but when the suspect turned on them they fired at him in self-defence. They shot him nine times in total before he went down." Barry explained.  
  
"That's terrible, Barry. But I don't see what this has to do with me." said Rebecca.  
  
"Well, after the incident the coroner called and brought the body to the morgue. According to what the coroner told me, the man was already showing early signs of decomposition." Barry began. Rebecca didn't like where this was going. "Then during the middle of the examination the body began to move. The coroner was still in shock when I talked to him. The body attacked him, but luckily for him a couple of my detectives were there working on a case. They shot it a couple of times and it went down. They dragged it into the quarantine area of the morgue. That was about an hour ago. As soon as I heard what happened I came down to the morgue. That's where I am now."  
  
"And?" asked Rebecca, already knowing what Barry was going to say.  
  
"When I got here it was already walking around the quarantine room. It's a zombie, not as decayed as the other T-Virus victims, but it's obvious." Barry continued.  
  
Rebecca felt numb. This wasn't supossed to happen. This couldn't happen. Not after everything they had accomplished. Four years ago they had brought Umbrella down. After years of collecting evidence, sabotaging facilities and trying to convince the world what was going on they had succeeded. Once they had convinced the American and European governments, Umbrella had no chance. On the same day the media were shown proof of Umbrella's experiments, military strikes were launched against Umbrella compounds all over the world. There were mass protests against Umbrella, their stock price dropped like a rock causing chaos on the world's financial markets. The Umbrella board of directors either comitted suicide, disappeared or were arrested. It had taken less that three days for Umbrella to crumble to nothing thanks mostly to the work of the STARS.  
  
"Barry. That's not possible! Every last drop of the T-Virus was destroyed and all the research as well!" Rebecca said desparately.  
  
"I know Rebecca. We were both there but.......but there is just no other way to explain it. I need you to come out here and take a look for yourself. Apart from the former Umbrella scientists, you know this virus better than anyone. And this is what you do now, right?" asked Barry.  
  
"Yeah. I'll go talk to my boss right now and get him to send a team out to you. If things go smoothly we should be out there in less that six hours. Oh, and Barry, you need to seal off any area's where the infected person has been and get everyone who has been in contact with him checked out." explained Rebecca.  
  
"It's already been taken care of. The site of the assault has already been sealed off and so has the morgue. Were also checking anyone who has gone near the zombie. We really need you out here Becca. If this virus gets out it'll be a hell of a lot worse than even Raccoon City."  
  
"I'll be there as soon as I can. Be careful, Barry." said Rebecca, before hanging up the phone and sprinting out of her office. 


	2. Meet Mr Bauer

Don't own a thing etc. Enjoy!  
  
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Rebecca burst through the door of the office without even stopping to even acknowledge the secretary at the desk outside.  
  
"Professor Ryan" said Rebecca after taking a few breaths."I need to-"  
  
"Excuse me, Dr. Chambers, I'm in the middle of an important meeting." interrupted Ryan, gesturing to the man sitting at the desk in front of him. He seemed somehow familiar to Rebecca.  
  
"I'm sorry sir, but this can't wait. I just got off the phone from Denver's Chief of Police. If what he's told me correct we may have a Level 4 biohazard outbreak in Colorado."  
  
"What!? What kind of outbreak?" he asked in surprise.  
  
"The T-Virus. It's unconfirmed at the moment, but from what Barry has told me it's very likely."  
  
"Barry?" asked the professor.  
  
"Barry Burton, sir. The Chief of Police in Denver. He's an old friend of mine from Raccoon City. You met him last year at that conference on bioterrorism in New York."  
  
"Of course. I remember him. One of the former STARS, correct?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, sir. Barry told me that some of his officers encountered a zombie attempting to attack someone last night in the suburbs of Denver. The officers shot it but it recovered at the morgue. It was eventually subdued by detectives at the morgue and placed into a quarantine room. It's still walking around."  
  
"Forgive me, Dr. Chambers, but hasn't the T-Virus been destroyed along with all the research data on it?" asked the man sitting in the chair, who had remained silent until now. He was in his early forties, Rebecca guessed, he had short blonde hair and wore a blue pinstripe suit. He also had a slight German accent.  
  
"Who is this, sir?" asked Rebecca, looking at the professor.  
  
Ryan looked surprised. "I'm sorry. I thought you would have recognised him. This is Professor Dieter Bauer, the world's leading virologist."  
  
Rebecca mentally kicked herself for not recognising Bauer. He was one of the top scientists in the world. Particularly when it came to viruses. Every day in the lab, she used several techniques that he had invented.   
  
"You flatter me, Professor Ryan. You have many incredibly talented people working here at the CDC." said Bauer.  
  
"Professor Bauer. I'm sorry I didn't recognise you. You look ...different from the pictures I have seen you in. It's an honour to meet you. To answer your question, yes, the T-Virus was destroyed along with all research. I oversaw the operation myself."  
  
"I see."  
  
Rebecca turned back to Ryan. "Professor, I told Barry that I would send a team out to him as soon as possible. I think I should also be a part of the team since I have experience with the T-Virus and am familiar with local law enforcement."  
  
"Well, in that case, I think it would be better if you _led_ the team. As you said, nobody knows the T-Virus like you do and your relationship with Chief Burton will certainly help things. Besides, although everyone has heard about what happened in Raccoon City, you were one of the few people to witness it's effects first hand."  
  
"Thank you, sir, but I thought I would merely be accompanying the team. I'm not sure if I'm ready to command a field team yet." said Rebecca, looking surprised.  
  
"I am sure, Dr. Chambers. Your work here over the past few years has been exemplary, as recognised by your recent promotion. I can't think of anyone better suited to this task. And if this _is_ a T-Virus outbreak, it's important that it be contained before it can spread."  
  
Bauer was still listening intently from his chair. "Professor Ryan, I know I am scheduled to give a talk to your scientists tomorrow, however if Dr. Chambers agrees, I would like to accompany her team to Denver. There may be something I can do to help, and if the T-Virus is as bad as I have read then it bust be contained at all costs."  
  
"I have no problem with that, Professor Bauer. Doctor?" asked Ryan.  
  
"No problems here. I think Professor Bauer could greatly improve our chances of containing the outbreak." said Rebecca enthusiastically.  
  
"Excellent." said Ryan. "You leave as soon as your team is ready. All the equipment you need will be packed up and sent to the airport. I'll give your team a preliminary briefing while you get prepared, get any extra equipment or information you might need. There will be a transport waiting outside in one hour to take you to the airport."  
  
"I'll go and get ready now, sir." said Rebecca before turning around to walk out of the room.  
  
"Excuse me, Dr. Chambers, I was hoping I could accompany you. I still have many questions about the T-Virus that I'm sure you could answer for me. I promise not to get in the way of your preparations." he added, with a smile.  
  
"Sure, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have, Professor. This way." she said, before walking out of the office. Bauer nodded a farewell to Professor Ryan and followed Rebecca out into the corridor.  
  
"So, Professor Bauer, what do you wan't to know about the T-Virus?" asked Rebecca as they walked back to her office.  
  
"Please, call me Dieter."  
  
"Then call me Rebecca."  
  
"Rebecca it is. The first thing I'd like to know is how it spreads so quickly. As I understand it, the virus can only survive in the atmosphere for a short time. After that it takes bodily contact from an infected creature, a scratch or bite, to become infected. I find it hard to believe that an entire city can be infected by a non-airborne virus within a matter of days."  
  
"What you have to understand......Dieter, is that the zombies and other infected creatures are extremely agressive. They exist only to feed and to destroy. I've seen what they're like. We were lucky that the virus didn't spread beyond Raccoon. If it hadn't been stopped there it would have spread across most of the planet by now. At the very least it would have decimated North America...........Now it still might."  
  
Rebecca stopped as she reached her office. She opened the door and they both went inside.  
  
"How long does it take for an infected individual to manifest symptoms?" asked Bauer, after Rebecca invited him to sit down.  
  
"It varies." said Rebecca, taking off her white lab coat and hanging it on a hook on the wall. "It can sometimes take only a few minutes or it can take several hours. Nobody has really determined why that is yet."  
  
She walked over to one of the larger boxes in the office and opened it. After rummaging around for a few seconds she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a shoulder holster with a gun in it. She took out the Beretta, checked it was loaded, then replaced it in the holster.  
  
Rebecca put on the shoulder holster over her T-shirt while Bauer looked on in surprise. "Do you always carry a gun?"  
  
"Oh, no. Since I left the STARS I only use it when there is a chance I could be facing massive hordes of the undead."   
  
Bauer still looked doubtful.  
  
"Don't worry. I still have a permit to carry it." said Rebecca, looking through another box until she found her denim jacket. She put it on over the holster. After grabbing her CDC identification from her lab coat she headed towards the door.  
  
"If your coming to Denver we should probably get you a gun too." she said seriously.  
  
Bauer wondered if she was joking. He hoped so. 


	3. Leaving on a Jet Plane

Don't own a thing. But maybe soon... ;)  
  
CassSpaz: I didn't trail off. I'm just a little...irregular with my updates. But if you keep reading them, I'll keep writing them.  
  
So more review's from everyone please. My offer of a shiny new penny will apply to this fic as well....  
  
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Rebecca looked around as she stepped out of the minivan, followed closely by Bauer. The hangar was a hive of activity with people rushing around, loading equipment onto the large aeroplane which took up most of the space inside. Rebecca saw a man with a clipboard who appeared to be directing the preparations and walked over to him.  
  
"Excuse me, who is in charge here." she asked.   
  
"I am, until the CDC send out their guy who's running the show. Now, if you'll excuse me, miss, we have a lot of work to do here." said the supervisor.  
  
"Wait. You don't understand. I'm Dr. Rebecca Chambers. I'll be the one leading this team."  
  
The man looked doubtful until Rebecca showed him her CDC identification. "I'm sorry, Dr. Chambers, I just didn't expect someone so..." he trailed off.  
  
"...young?" she finished, getting slightly annoyed. "Check with the CDC if you don't believe me. But it's your ass if you slow us down."  
  
"No, no. That won't be necessary, ma'am. Anyway, the preparations are almost complete. You should be ready to go in the next twenty minutes." he said.  
  
"Good. Has my team arrived yet?" asked Rebecca.  
  
"Yes, Doctor. They're already on board."  
  
"Then, I'll get on board as well. I need the equipment in the minivan loaded onto the plane as well."  
  
"Of course. I'll get someone on it immediately."  
  
Without saying another word Rebecca turned and began walking towards the stairs up to the aeroplane. After a polite nod to the supervisor Bauer followed.  
  
"It's probably none of my business, but wasn't that a little harsh?" asked Bauer.  
  
"Probably." admitted Rebecca. "It's just that I hate not being taken seriously because of my age. It's not too bad now that I'm a little older. But I guess it's to be expected when you graduate from college at eighteen. I still don't have to like it though."  
  
Rebecca made her way up the stairs to the aeroplane anxious to see who Professor Ryan had put on her team. She was relieved to see that she knew most of the people, or at least recognised most of them. She noticed one of her old lab partners, David, in the crowd of faces which were now staring at her. "Good." she thought. "I could really use his help on this one. Shit. I think that's Susan sitting next to him. If she still thinks that I stole her promotion then she's going to be a complete bitch the whole time. I guess I'll have to deal with her later."  
  
Most of the chatting had died down by now and everyone was waiting for Rebecca to speak.  
  
"Good morning. I assume you have been briefed on the situation in Denver." she began. Most of the scientists nodded in response."Good. There will be vehicles waiting for us in Denver but we need to get the equipment unloaded quickly. Time is of the essence here. If the T-Virus begins to spread we will only have a short time to contain it before the entire city becomes a write-off. Local hazmat teams have the only infected individual under quarantine. It has come into contact with several others who could possibly have been infected. Do we have any questions?"  
  
Rebecca saw Susan's hand shoot up."Dr. Taylor?" she nodded to Susan, bracing herself.  
  
"Excuse me, Dr. Chambers, but shouldn't you let the team leader explain the situation." she said with a barely disguised smirk, and looking at Bauer who was still standing slightly behind Rebecca.  
  
Bauer looked nervous and was about to say something until Rebecca cut him off. "I assume you have all at least heard of Professor Bauer. He is one of the world's leading virologists and although he has no experience with the T-Virus he has still offered his considerable skill in the field of viruses to help us resolve this situation. However..." she looked icily towards Susan. "..._I_ am in command of this mission. Professor Ryan has given me complete authority to command as I see fit in containing this virus. Understood?"  
  
Susan nodded reluctantly.  
  
"Anyone else?" asked Rebecca, looking around the plane. There wasn't.  
  
"Okay. I'm going to go talk to the pilot to see how soon we can get out of here."   
  
As she walked towards the cockpit Bauer took an empty seat near the front of the plane, beginning a discussion on advanced virus replication methods with a confused looking young doctor.  
  
"How long until we are able to leave?" Rebecca asked the pilot, without preamble.  
  
"As soon as were fully fuelled. The equipment is already on board. It will take ten more minutes for the fuel, Ms....?"  
  
"Chambers. How long will it take us to reach Denver?"  
  
"With the current weather it'll take just under three hours to reach Denver International Airport. I'll let you know of any changes to the flight schedule." said the pilot.  
  
"Thanks. I'll be in the back."   
  
As she closed the door to the cockpit she almost bumped into David Freeman, her former lab partner.  
  
"David. What's wrong?" she asked when she saw the look on his face.  
  
"Your friend from Denver is on the phone. He didn't sound good. He said he needs to speak with you right now, Rebecca" David said quickly.  
  
"Thanks, Dave." said Rebecca before rushing to the nearest private phone.  
  
"Barry?"  
  
"Becca! Thank God. I've been trying to get through to you for the last thirty minutes. Thing's are starting to get bad here. One of the detectives from the morgue has tested positive for the T-Virus. He must have been scratched by the zombie or something. We have him contained for now. All of the other tests have been negative so far but were still waiting for a few to come back. How far away is your team now?" asked Barry.  
  
"We're getting ready to take off now. We'll be landing in Denver in less than three hours. The military are providing us with vehicles once we get there but a police escort to the morgue would really help speed things up."  
  
"Consider it done." said Barry. "I've still got my men trying to find out where the zombie came from but so far we've got nothing. It couldn't have been there long or we would have recieved more reports of attacks. It was either deliberately infected and placed there or there's another zombie out there. Either way, this is gonna get really fucking bad. We need you here Rebecca."  
  
Rebecca could hear the pilot on the intercom telling people to take their seats.  
  
"Barry. I have to go. Were about to take off. Take care. We are going to stop this, Barry. This is _not_ going to be another Raccoon City."  
  
Rebecca hung up the phone and went back out to the main cabin. Almost everyone was strapped into their seats by now.  
  
"We've just got word from Denver." said Rebecca. "There are now two confirmed cases of the T-Virus there. We'll arrive there in under three hours. I wan't everyone ready to move as soon as we land."  
  
There was silence in the cabin except for the roar of the engines powering up. Rebecca strapped herself into the aisle seat next to Bauer, much to the relief of the young doctor sitting on the opposite side of the professor. She prepared heself for a flight that she knew would last almost an eternity. 


	4. Welcome to Denver

Dont own a thing. Really, I dont...  
  
A/N: At long last an update. It's been a while... okay a long while but updates should be more regular now. Unless that little life thing gets in the way again, which it has a nasty habit of doing.  
  
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The flight had been an uneventful one so far. Most of the doctors read over reports of T-Virus infections, probable rates of infection and other things that could be useful in case they had to contain an outbreak. Most of the reports had been written by Rebecca in the years after the Raccoon City outbreak in case a similar situation occured somewhere else.  
  
"Just like what could be happening right now." thought Rebecca, checking her watch again. Thirty minutes remained until the plane landed in Denver. The last two and a half hours had seemed like an eternity to Rebecca. She already knew every word in the reports so had just tried to relax during the flight. She had chatted to Bauer for a while before he returned to confusing the young doctor next to him by discussing various complex viral experiments.  
  
Rebecca decided to take another trip to the cockpit to kill a few minutes. Just before she reached the cockpit door the bathroom door ahead opened and Susan Taylor stepped out.  
  
"Susan." Rebecca said calmly.  
  
"Chambers." replied Susan, with barely disguised hostility before roughly brushing past Rebecca.  
  
Rebecca spun around."That's Doctor Chambers. Or you can just call me sir if you prefer."  
  
"Sir?" Susan turned to face her with a smirk. "You think I'm going to call you 'sir'? Get a life, Chambers. I don't know who you screwed to get my promotion, or to get to lead this mission, and I don't really care. All I ask is that you let me be there when you fuck this up." She turned to walk through the curtain to the cabin when Rebecca grabbed her arm.  
  
"I don't know where you come up with this shit and I also don't really care. But what's happenening in Denver is more important than whatever little problems you have with me. I need you to forget about this until we make sure the virus is contained, okay? Then you can complain as much as you want." Rebecca reasoned.  
  
"Whatever." said Susan as she ripped her arm away from Rebecca's grip and walked back to the cabin.  
  
Rebecca sighed and continued towards the cockpit door.  
  
"What a bitch!" thought Rebecca as she entered the cockpit.  
  
"Dr. Chabmers." acknowleged the pilot. "We'll be landing in just under twenty five minutes. Your transport is already waiting just off the runway. I've also just been informed that six police motorcyles and two squad cars have arrived there to escort you to your destination."  
  
"That's good to hear. Are there any delays at Denver?" asked Rebecca.  
  
"We've recieved priority clearance from Denver Control. They've closed off the entire runway for us. There will be no delays, Doctor." answered the co-pilot.  
  
"Okay. Let me know when were about to land." said Rebecca before turning around and leaving the cockpit. When she walked back nto the aircraft's cabin the first thing she noticed was Susan 's icy stare. Rebecca walked back to her seat trying to ignore her.  
  
"Is everything alright?" asked Bauer as Rebecca strapped herself back into her seat. "You look troubled."  
  
"Oh, I'm fine. I ran into Susan back there. She wasn't exactly hapy that I'm in charge and I think I made it worse by pissing her off even more. She didn't seem interested in kissing and making up afterwads." explained Rebecca.  
  
"I'm sure whatever you said to her was well deserved. Perhaps you should consider removing her from the team? If she's going to cause problems it could be for the best." said Bauer.  
  
"No. I can handle Susan. And we might need her in Denver. The zombies might get hungry."  
  
That earned a slight grin from Bauer.  
  
---  
  
The last part of the flight remained quiet and twenty minutes later the plane touched down in Denver. Rebecca was the first to the door. The mobile stairs next to the runway had been positioned by the door within seconds. When Rebecca swung the door open she saw the large contingent of vehicles waiting for them. She walked down the stairs to meet a man wearing a military uniform. The man extended his hand to her.  
  
"Dr. Chambers, I presume. I'm Colonel John Hammond, U.S Army. How was your flight?" he asked.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Colonel. It was long and boring. I'm glad to finally be here."  
  
"Well, Doctor, we should have you ready to go in no time. My men will load up the trucks and you team can take Hummers to the morgue. A squad of my men will also go along. There will also be a police escort."  
  
"Yes I've been informed of that." said Rebecca, seeing a group of soldiers already running to unload the plane.  
  
"We also have a spare Blackhawk in the area so we can fly you and two or three others there along with some of your equipment. It should save you a bit of time. If you'll just tell Lieutenant Munroe what you need loaded he'll get it done, double time."  
  
Rebecca reeled off a large number of items that would be needed as the rest of the team disembarked from the plane.  
  
There was a flurry of activity on the runway as both the trucks and the helicopter were loaded. By the time all the equipment Rebecca needed was on board there were only two extra seats left. Rebecca saw her old lab partner, David Freeman, supervising the loading of the last truck.  
  
"David. Is everything ready?" asked Rebecca.  
  
"Just about, Becca...excuse me, Doctor Chambers." he smiled. "You're the big boss now."  
  
"Rebecca also smiled. "David, I'm leaving you in charge of the team while I go on on ahead with Professor Bauer. I need you to get them there in one piece."  
  
"Will do." answered David. "I don't think Dr. Taylor is going to like that you put me in charge though. She's been talking shit about you for the whole flight. I'll make sure she doesn't cause anymore trouble."  
  
"Thanks, David." said Rebecca before walking off to find Bauer. She found him over near the helicopter talking to Colonel Hammond.  
  
"So how fast does this thing go?" asked Bauer.  
  
"Well, over populated areas we try to stay under 120 knots. You should reach the morgue in under five minues. There's a helipad on the roof across the street." answered the Colonel.  
  
They both turned to face Rebecca as she approached.  
  
"I'm leaving David Freeman in charge of the team until they reach the morgue, Colonel. I assume you will be travelling with them." said Rebecca.  
  
"Yes. I'll be taking a truck with the rest of my men. We'll make sure they get there on time. I should let you two get aboard. I understand time is of the essence."  
  
"Indeed it is, Colonel. Thank you for your assistance."  
  
"My pleasure, Professor. Doctor." he nodded to Rebecca before walking off.  
  
Rebecca and Bauer climbed into the cramped helicopter and strapped themselves in. The pilot turned to Rebecca.  
  
"Dr. Chambers, we have an urgent transmission from Chief Burton for you." he handed her a helmet with microphone and earpiece attached. She put it on.  
  
"Okay, put him through." shouted Rebecca over the growing noise of the rotating blades of the Blackhawk. She heard a click and a voice in her earpiece.  
  
"Rebecca? Are you there?" asked a deep voice.  
  
"Barry. We're on our way to the morgue by helicopter right now"  
  
"That's good to hear. We need you now. One of the possible infected people has disappeared." 


	5. The Welcoming Committee

Dont own a thing. Well I own things but......ah screw it. On with the show.  
  
A/N: Kinda short, this chapter. The next one will be longer. The David in this fic is not the David from the novels. There will be nobody from the novels turning up either. Especially Trent.  
  
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Rebecca stared out the window of the helicopter at the mountains beyond the city. She couldn't help thinking of the Arklay Mountains outside Raccoon City and the night everything had started. Rebecca had been terrified when the Bravo Team's helicopter crash landed in the forest but it had been nothing compared to what she'd had to endure over the next two days. She still prefered not to travel in helicopters and tried to concentrate on the job she had to do hoping it wasn't too long until they arrived.   
  
"We're two minutes out, Dr. Chambers." came the voice of the pilot through the speakers in Rebecca's helmet. "Were going to be landing on a government owned office building just across from the morgue. There's a service elevator on the roof that leads all the way down to the ground floor. It should be big enough to get your equipment down in."  
  
"Good. Can you patch me through to Chief Burton?"asked Rebecca.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. There's the building up ahead. We'll be landing in a moment."said the pilot.  
  
Rebecca heard a crackling in her earpiece."Burton here."  
  
"Barry, I'm landing now. Have you found the missing person yet?"  
  
"No. I have the nine city blocks surrounding the morgue sealed off though. We'll find him. He's one of the mourge employees who was examining the corpse before it "woke up". I think he could still be hiding in the building. The Army has placed a some of their soldiers under my command. Since I'm familiar with the effects of the T-virus they're letting the police department maintain control of the operation for the moment. I literally have an army looking for him."  
  
"So where are you now?" asked Rebecca.  
  
"I'm outside the morgue waiting for you. I sent a few SWAT team members to escort you down. I've been in contact with your friend David Freeman. He and the rest of your team will be here in another fifteen minutes. It's good timing. Local Health Services are already overwhelmed. They aren't equipped to handle even a mid sized outbreak"said Barry.  
  
"Okay, Barry. We're landing on the helipad now. I can see the SWAT team on the roof. I'll see you in a few minutes." said Rebecca before removing the helmet.  
  
The Blackhawk had just landed on the helipad with a gentle thud. A few seconds later a man in full body armour slung his MP5 submachinegun over his shoulder and ran over to open the helicopter's door. He pulled the door open and helped Rebecca out. Bauer climbed out after her.  
  
"Dr. Chambers. I'm Sargent Mullins. The Chief told us to escort you down to him." the man shouted over the beat of the rotors above.  
  
Rebecca ducked as she walked away from the Blackhawak despite the fact the rotors were six feet above head. Rebecca knew this but still didn't want to take any chances.  
  
"I'll need my equipment brought down as well, Sargent" said Rebecca.  
  
"Of course, Doctor." said Mullins. He made a hand gesture to the five other armoured men who practically ran to the helicopter and began unloading it.  
  
"So, Doctor, just how bad is this virus that I've been hearing about? I mean it must be pretty bad if the CDC is involved." asked Mullins.  
  
"Worse than you can imagine, Sargent. It can turn a normal person into a savage, bloodthirsty animal in a matter of hours, sometimes minutes. And only about one in seventy four million people are immune to it, but those few who are immune will probably be eaten if there is a large scale outbreak." said Rebecca calmly.  
  
"Uhhh. Okay. Bad then." said Mullins. "Then I guess we'd better get you movin-"  
  
Rebecca, Mullins and Bauer turned as they heard the faint sound of another helicopter coming from the north side of the building. All three scanned the sky for the helicopter but could see none.  
  
The sound suddenly increased when the black helicopter rose up and came into view ten metres off the north side of the helipad with the cockpit facing towards them. Rebecca saw there was a single pilot, dressed in black, wearing a helmet with a darkened visor. Rebecca immediately felt that there was something wrong as the helicopter began to turn as it hovered in place. She barely had time to notice the heavy machinegun mounted on the side of it before she was pushed to the ground by Mullins.  
  
From her position on the ground Rebecca saw the rest of the SWAT team over by the Blackhawk. With barely a seconds notice all five of them were bringing up their guns to fire. The man on the mounted machine gun had the element of surprse however. The deafening sound of the heavy machinegun could be heard above the sound of both helicopters. The first burst of high calibur bullets ripped through the armour of three of the SWAT men killing them instantly. Bullets also slammed into the Blackhawk behind them, damaging it.  
  
Next to her, Rebecca heard Mullins open fire, peppering the side of the black helicopter with bullets. The other two remaining SWAT men also fired but missed the man operating the machinegun. During this the Blackhawk pilot began to lift off the helipad. It was ten feet off the roof when another barrage of bullets ripped into the tail of the helicopter.  
  
Mullins fired another three-round burst from his MP5 hitting his target squarely in the face. The man fell back into the helicopter which quickly moved away from the rooftop. Rebecca looked around and saw Bauer was still on the ground with his arms covering his head. Suddenly, she spun around hearing the sound of tearing metal. The Blackhawk was spinning wildly out of control, scraping the edge of the rooftop as thick, black smoke billowed from its tail. A huge tear formed in the underside of he helicopter as it slid backwards off the side of the roof. Rebecca looked on in horror as the cockpit disappeared from view , leaving a trail of smoke behind.  
  
---  
  
Barry was on the street below, organising some more re-enforcements to search for the missing morgue employee, when he heard the faint sound of gunfire. He looked up to see a helicopter firing at the rooftop. At Rebecca!  
  
"Johnson." Barry ordered. "Get your team up there now and see what the hell is going on!"  
  
"Yes, sir!" shouted Johnson as he led his team into the building.  
  
Barry looked up again to see the Blackhawk falling backwards off the roof.  
  
"Clear the area, now!" shouted Barry, before grabbing the nearest person to him and pulling her over to the morgue entrance. He dived through the doorway just before the Blackhawk crashed onto a squad car across the road with a deafening roar and exploded into a fireball. 


End file.
